2 charged with murder 6 months after Conn. man's party stabbing death
NEW YORK - Two men are facing murder charges six months after the death of a Connecticut man who'd attended a party at a Manhattan luxury apartment building.
James Rackover, of Manhattan, and Lawrence Dilione, of Jersey City, New Jersey appeared in court on Wednesday after being indicted for the murder of 26-year-old Joseph Comunale.
Rackover owned the East Side apartment where authorities say the Stamford man was fatally stabbed in November. Authorities say the two drove Comunale's body to Oceanport, New Jersey where they buried it.
Both deny any wrongdoing. The pair had earlier pleaded not guilty to concealment of a human body, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
A third person, 26-year-old Max Gemma, of Oceanport, New Jersey, has pleaded not guilty to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
"These are precisely the cases in which the allegations turn out to be unfounded," Rackover's attorney said, according to CBS New York.
"The prosecution says they have a case, we say they don't," Dilione's attorney added.
Prosecutors say Comunale was viciously beaten in an apparent fight over cigarettes, reports CBS New York. Then, prosecutors claim, Rackover stabbed him fifteen times.
There were also reportedly allegations that he tried to dismember the body.
When the corpse was later found dumped at the Jersey shore, there was evidence that it was doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Rackover reportedly never made bail on the original charges related to the case and has been in jail ever since. According to CBS New York, Rackover and Dilione were remanded on Wednesday, and Gemma is free on bail.